Method of making protective book cover



July 11, 1961 w. J. LUTWACK METHOD OF MAKING PROTECTIVE BOOK COVER Filed July 19, 1957 INVENTOR.

United States Patent Ofice Patented July 11, 1961 METHOD OF MAKING PROTEC BOOK COVER Wilton I. Lutwack, 701 Seneca St., Buffalo, NY.

- Filed July 19, 1957, Ser. No. 673,015 I 3 Claims. (Cl. 154-125) This invention relates to a method of making a protective book cover and more particularly to a book --cover,of the sheet type adapted to be folded around the covers and backs of books for the protection thereof,'and which includes an outer clearly transparent layer, lamina or sheet made of plastic and which is smooth and glossy, has a high tear strength and is highly resistive to moisture, "scuffing and abrasion and another layer, lamina or sheet of high.'qua1ity paper having high tear and burst strength andminimum hygroscopicity and on which can be printed :school or fraternal insignia and advertisements as well as guide lines for facilitating the application of the cover :to different sized books. 51;..OIIB oftheprincipal objects of the present invention is to provide such a book cover having an adequate but limited external area of. the outer clearly transparent smooth and glossy layer or sheet treated to accept and re- -.tain ink, dye, pencil and other markings so that the owner of the book can inscribe his name or any other data on ,this area with the use of any conveniently available writ- ,ing instrument and having the permanence normally pro- :-yided by such instrument; 1

f Another object is to provide such area without destroying the tear strength and resistivity to moisture, scufling and abrasion ofthe outer sheet at the area. L, Another object is to provide such a limited writing area upon the outer transparent smooth and glossy lam- .ina or sheet of the book cover from which any marks .can be cleanly erased with the use of erasing materials normally used for the particular marking present on the area.

Another object is to provide this writable area along ;-th-at portionof the book cover which extends across the back of the book and which extends from one edge of .the' smooth and glossy transparent layer or lamina to the opposite edge thereof so that the full distance which {the cover extends along the back of the bookis available for. writing and'so that infolded edge portions of the cover can also be marked to provide a concealed or .secret place to apply ownership markings and the like.

Another object is to provide. sucha method of making .a protective book cover which employs conventional applying and curing techniques for the adhesive and sheetmaterials used andjis atthe same time adapted ,for the-continuous productionof protective .book covers .with a minimum ofsupervision and with a minimum of ;imperfect copies likely to be produced.

Another object is to provide such a'process by which such protective bookcovers with windows containing a writable surface'can be produced 'by a rapid continuous 'process' and 'atlow cost.

Other'objects and advantages of the invention will be a'pparent from the following description and drawings in which: 4

l FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section through apparatus designed to carry out 'theprocess forming the subject of the present invention.

f FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the part of the apparatus as viewed generally from line 1 FIG. Sis-a side elevational view of a cutting table for cuttingthe normalized composite paper and plastic strip into lengths to complete the book covers.

' FIG. 4 is a perspective .view of. a book protected by outer lamina.

a book cover embodying the present invention and having a marking written thereon.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modified form apparatus for carrying out the invention.

The product of the present invention is a laminated or multi-ply foldable and creasable protective book cover in the form of a sheet cut from a composite strip 10 along the edges 11 of its paper components to produce the finished product which has a rectangular outer layer or lamina 12 which is clearly transparent, smooth and glossy and which extends as a single layer to cover the back binding 13 of a book 14 as well as to fold around the rim portions of the front and rear covers 15, 16 of the book. The book cover includes a rectangular inner layer or lamina 20 of high quality paper having high tearand burst strength and minimum hygroscopicity and which will accept printing on the face which is laminated .to the transparent outer layer or lamina 12. Such print- .each book cover are coextensive in the direction along the back binding of the book bothterminatin'g at and being provided by cutting the outer lamina 12 along the abutting edges 11 of the paper sheets 20 applied to the However, in the laminated book cover shown the transparent outer layer 12 is stopped short of the right andleft hand of the laminated cover so as to leave an extension 121 of the inner paper layer or lamina 20 exposed at each right and left hand extremity of the laminated cover both to permit of ready writing on a :paper'exposure and also to provide a better grip of the laminated cover on the book. In addition to the quality of transparency and glossiness, the exterior surface of the outer lamina or layer 12 is highly resistive to the eflects of moisture, including perspiration as well as rain and is also highly resistive to scufling and abrasion. It

should also be stable under many temperature conditions and have a high degree of toughness or tear strength asp well as suflicient flexibility to be readily manually .folded upon itself and manually creased in applying the protective laminated cover to a book. To meet the above requirements I have found that an 88 gage film or layer of cellulose acetate with plasticizers to have the requisite pliability has been satisfactory.

.This outer layer or lamina 12 is adhered to the successive inner paper sheets 20 by a layer of adhesive 22. The paper layer or lamina 20 of each book cover is preferably a high finish, tub-sized, 65 pound, moderate soft, bleached, white sulphate and sulphite paper in the order of .005 inch thick paper.

To facilitate folding the protective book cover around different sized books, guide lines are printed on the face of the inner paper layer or lamina 20 of each book cover and which guide lines are visible through the outer transparent layer or lamina 12. These guide lines are shown as comprising an upper and lower series of parallel spaced lines 25 adjacent and parallel with the opposite longitudinal edges 11 of the book cover, and another vided in spaced relation to each other at the center of .the book cover and parallel with the lines 26. The adhesive 22- is "applied to oneface of the outer transparent layer 12 while this outer layer is still in the tact with the resilient pressure roller 46.

these rolls rotating with the strip 12 .passing among them. The .glue roll 33 dips into the'body of adhesive 22 shown as contained within a tank 35. The adhesive used is, of course, transparent in its final state and can be a polyvinyl aceate modified with either alkyd resins or plasticizers such as esters of phthalic acid or both. The glue roll 33 picks up a layer of this adhesive and applies it to the underside of the strip 12 of transparent cellulose acetate passing over and in contact with this :glue roll.

From the hold-down roll 34 the continuous strip of transparent cellulose acetate 12 is shown as passing upwardly and over a roll 36 which feeds the strip 12 horizontally into a drying tunnel 38. This drying tunnel is shown as being in the form of a horizontal-1y elongated application to the sheets of paper '20.

From the outlet opening 40the strip 12 of cellulose acetate passes around a roller 43 and thence downwardly and around the underside of an internally heated metal roll 45 which cooperates with a resilientpressure roller 46 arranged thereunder. This resilient pressure roller is preferably made of rubber or the like and is arranged directly below the heating roll 45 and parallel therewith. These rolls 45, 46 are rotated at the same peripheral speed as the rate of travel of the strip '12 of cellulose acetate and the sheets 20 of paper are fed from a pile 47 with their printed sides up, into the bite of the rolls 45, 46 with their edges 11 in edge-to-edge relation so that the successive sheets 20 of paper'provide a continuous procession of sheets the printed faces of which are brought into contact with the adhesive 22 on the transparent strip 12 and the reverse faces of which are brought into con- In passing between the rolls 45, 46the successive'pieces of paper 20 in 'edge-to-edge procession are pressed into contact with the adhesive 22 on the transparent strip 12 so as to be reliably adhered thereto.

From the rolls 45, 46 the composite strip so formed passes between'a pair of resilient pressure rollers 48, 49 and thence the composite roll passes over the rounding upper edge of a board or stationary vertical wall 50 and thence downwardly and under a roller 51.

The feature of the invention resides in the albrading of a stripe onthe glossy exposed face of the plastic strip 12 to have a tooth which will accept the retain markings made by conventional pens and pencils, such as the markings from pencils and crayons, ink from pens and dyes from ball point pens. Desirably this stripe extends along the back of the book to which the protective cover is applied and from one edge of the cover to the opposite edge thereof so that the full area of cover which overlays the back of the book is available for inscribing the 'students name, the book title, class or any other data and in addition so that the student can apply a concealed or secret marking on the underfolded top or bottom of the book cover to enable identification ofstolen property.

its far edge. down into cooperative 'relatibnjwith the 'fi xe'd cutting blade paper sheet 20 therebelow,

This stripe 55 is applied from a fixed zone to the moving composite strip 12, 20 and preferably continuously along the entire center of the composite strip. For this purpose, the composite strip .12, 20 from the roll 51 passes with its transparentigl'os'sy cellulose acetate plastic lamina or strip 12 up, onto a table '56. Above table'ancl the composite stir-1p 12,f20..passing thereover IS a rotating shaft :58 carrying, at the center of the composite strip, a fixed hub '59 provided with flails 60. These flails are preferably made of a fine grain sandpaper --or emery cloth and :the rotation of the shaft '58 isisuch that the abrasive sides of'the flails 60 are brought v-iolently'into contact with the center of the passing'composite'strip 12, 20 so as to produce the narrow stripe 55 in the glossy face of the plastic sheet 1 2 having the proper tooth to accept and retain markings. The width of the flails determines the'width of the stripe 55, this preferably being the' dista'nce betweenthe two seris -of lines 2-9 at thecenter 'of'theibook cover isothat the'writable stripe 55 registers with the space between 'these lines and extends the full extent alongthe'back 'ofzthe covered book.

A guard 61 is shown as arranged over the flails 60 to protect the operator and-after the stripe'SS has been abraded in the composite strip, the composite strip is passed around a roller-"63 and th'enwound up on a'windup roll 64 on 'a shaft 65. The composite strip-is retained in this roll form 64- for the period-necessary to normalize the laminae. I

After normalization the composite strip 12, 20 as showh in FIG. 2, is unwound from the rewind roll"64 onto-a cutting table 66 having a stationary cutting blade "68 along A movable cutting blade 69 'is brought 68 each time'the abutting edges 1-1 of the 'sueces'si've sheets of paper 20 come intifthe line of cut. Since-the toothed stripe-55 is continuous and the composite sheet 12, 20 is cut-along the-abutting edgesof thepaper s'het's 20, it will be seen that the book cover cohiprises a generally rectangular outer sheet 1i, of clearly transparent flexible plastic having generally parallel upper and lower edges coincident with the upper and tower edges-1, 11 of the paper-sheet 20, the layer of adh'e' 'sive 2'2 uniting these sheets into -face-to-"face relation, and with a ,of the area of the outer face ofthe outersheet'20 having teeth to form a parallel sided stripe 55 "extending perpendicularto the edges ll, 11-and rr'em on'eerthese edges to'the other and capable of retaining marks applied thereto and the balance of'this area being smooth, glossy and transparent to visually expose the printing on the The completed book 'covers'fall onto a "table 70 on which they build up into-a pile 71. p p p In lieu of the flails 60, a'solid rubber wheel 60a i'rnpregnated with abrasive grains'can be mounted on'th e hub 59 as shown in FIG. 5. It willbe seen that the speration of this form of the invention-is the same-as with the flails 60 which essentially involves moving "a long strip 12 of-glossy transparent flexible sheet plastic longitudinally, progressively adhering paper 20 to one side thereof, abrading from a fixed station a limited central area of the exposed glossy face of the plastic strip 12 to provide a toothed stripe -55 runningylengthwise of the line of movement of the plastic strip 12, and thereafter cutting the composite strip into lengths along the edges 11. In applying the book cover to the book l4' as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the book is placed upon thebook cover on one end of the border design and centered between the lines 25, 25. The two lines 25 beyond the upper and lower edges of the book are rnarked by thestudent. These marked lines are then each creased and the upper and lower parts folded in toprovide a cover .slightly larger than the book and it will be noted tha't in so foldin'gin the upper and lower parts-of the book cove r alo ng' the rease lines two portions of the writabl e'surface or stiipe 55 are folded so as to be on the inside of the book cover. At this time the student can inscribe his name or any other identification data and which will be subsequently concealed when the cover is applied to the book.

The back binding of the book is then placed between the center guide lines 29 and the free ends of the book cover are wrapped around the hard covers of the book and lightly crimped with ones thumbs. The protective book cover is then removed and again one extra space is allowed and the ends are creased and folded along the lines 26. One hard cover of the book is then slipped into the pocket so formed by creasing and folding along the lines 26 and the other hard cover of the book is slipped into the pocket provided at the opposite end. It will be noted that at this time the marking previously made upon the toothed stripe 55 by the student is concealed and is arranged against the back of the book. The student can now inscribe his name, class, the title of the book, or any other data on the exposed portion of the toothed stripe 55 which lies along the back binding of the book as shown in FIG. 4. This marking can be made with a pencil, pen or other conventional writing instrument and its durability will match the durability of the particular writing material used.

It will be seen that the method of the present invention produces at very low cost a high quality protective book cover having not only a large exposed writing surface but also a concealed writing surface available for secret identification marks.

I claim:

1. The method of making a protective book cover of the character described, which comprises arranging a succession of paper sheets in a row in edge-to-edge relation with one another, moving said row longitudinally progressively, adhering a long strip of glossy transparent flexible sheet plastic longitudinally to one face of said moving row of paper sheets, abrading from a fixed station a limited central area of the face of said moving strip of plastic opposite to that to which said paper sheets are applied thereby to provide a toothed stripe running lengthwise of the line of movement of said long strip, and thereafter cutting said long strip along the abutting edges of said paper sheets.

2. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein said abrading is continuous whereby said toothed stripe extends from one of said cut edges of each book cover to the opposite cut edge thereof.

3. The method of making a protective book cover of the character described, which comprises moving a long strip of glossy transparent flexible sheet plastic longitudinally, progressively adhering paper to one side of said moving strip of plastic, thereafter continuously abrading from a fixed station a limited central area of the face of said moving strip of plastic opposite the side to which said paper is applied thereby to provide a toothed stripe running lengthwise of the line of movement of said long strip and applied the full length of said long strip, and thereafter cutting said long strip into sections to provide book covers of thedesired dimensions each having a toothed stripe running from one edge to the opposite edge thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 548,216 Murray Oct. 22, 1895 1,490,801 Collins Apr. 15, 1924 2,325,584 Barnhart Aug. 3, 1943 2,475,345 Williams July 5, 1949 2,522,926 Brody Sept. 19, 1950 2,556,825 Smith June 12, 1951 2,565,868 Mann Aug. 28, 1951 2,641,484 Brody June 9, 1953 

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING A PROTECTIVE BOOK COVER OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, WHICH COMPRISES ARRANGING A SUCCESSION OF PAPER SHEETS IN A ROW IN EDGE-TO-EDGE RELATION WITH ANOTHER, MOVING SAID ROW LONGITUDINALLY PROGRESSIVELY, ADHERING A LONG STRIP OF GLOSSY TRANSPARENT FLEXIBLE SHEET PLASTIC LONGITUDINALLY TO ONE FACE OF SAID MOVING ROW OF PAPER SHEETS, ABRADING FROM A FIXED STATION A LOMITED CENTRAL AREA OF THE FACE OF SAID MOVING STRIP OF PLASTIC OPPOSITE TO THAT TO WHICH SAID PAPER SHEETS ARE APPLIED THEREBY TO PROVIDE A TOOTHES STRIPED RUNNING LENGTH WISE OF THE LINE OF MOVEMENT OF SAID LONG STRIP, AND THEREAFTER CUTTING SAID LONG STRIP ALONG THE ABUTTING EDGES OF SAID PAPER SHEETS. 